In The News: Ossoff and Spiliotes in USA Today
January 24, 2007
As the political scene heats up, Saint Anselm College political experts are offering their thoughts on the candidates, the issues, and the controversies to a national audience. Barack Obama’s political resume may seem a little thin to some and in “The big question about Barack Obama,” USA Today asked if his experience is enough to qualify him to be president. Dean Spiliotes, research director of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics, told the newspaper: “Lyndon Johnson had a long career in Congress before becoming president, but history considers his White House record mixed because of the Vietnam War.” Spiliotes said, “What really matters is your temperament and your ability to make good decisions.” He said voters “make their decision at a very intuitive, gut level…. They have a mental checklist of what a president looks like, sounds like, and acts like.”
New York Senator Hillary Clinton recently announced she would be exploring a run for the White House and USA Today ran a cover story Jan. 22, “Why some Democrats worry that she can’t win.” Elizabeth Ossoff, psychology professor, said Hillary “doesn’t fit the mold.” She predicted “a difficult but very interesting race. A lot of things are going to get brought up, and people are going to have to face their opinions.” Ossoff also said Clinton will have to change her cold, hard-edged image in order to let people “see her and get to know her as a person.”
Finding Plato
January 2, 2007
“This nation’s prisons are full of people who have looked for salvation and redemption and have found God. Well, thanks to a recently ended academic program at the Women’s Prison in Goffstown, one inmate has found Plato. And she says her discovery has changed her life.”
That introduction begins a Dec. 28 New Hampshire Public Radio story about assistant professor Edward McGushin’s unusual philosophy class. The program was held last semester in the Goffstown Women’s Prison, and was funded by the New Hampshire Humanities Council and Saint Anselm’s Consortium on Justice and Society.
What Would Plato Do?
December 4, 2006
Saint Anselm professors Elaine Rizzo and Edward McGushin were featured this morning on New Hampshire Public Radio’s call-in program, The Exchange. You can listen to the show through the NHPR Web site at www.nhpr.org/node/11916. Provided below is NHPR’s show description.
“Professors from Saint Anselm College are bringing the ancient Greek philosopher’s lessons to the Goffstown Women’s Prison. The goal: using philosophy to explain how we make choices. We’ll explore how Plato’s work can still apply to all areas of our lives, from politics to love. Laura Knoy’s guests are Edward McGushin, assistant professor of philosophy at Saint Anselm College, and Elaine Rizzo, professor of criminal justice and co-director of the Consortium of Justice and Society at Saint Anselm College.”
Getting to Know Dr. Denise Askin
December 1, 2006
Saint Anselm English Professor Denise Askin was recently featured in Diverse: Issues in Higher Education magazine. An excerpt of the article is included below. To read the article in its entirety, visit www.diverseeducation.com/artman/publish/article_6609.shtml
“American Indian literature classes are not plentiful at U.S. colleges and universities, to say the least. But Dr. Denise T. Askin, an English professor at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H., is devoted to the subject and is trying to keep it alive in her fall semester class, Native American Voices. Although she isn’t American Indian, Askin has been teaching the class for three years.
“Many of the Native American writers we study stress the importance of story to the survival of the people,” she says. “The story and storyteller keep all that is sacred and meaningful alive for the people. I ask the students to think about the role of story in their own lives and culture, and to think about what is lost when the storytellers are silenced. It is a powerful lesson in the endurance of the human spirit.”
Prof. Montague Brown to Give Bready Chair Lecture
November 9, 2006
Saint Anselm College will mark an academic milestone November 14, 2006, with a lecture by Philosophy Professor Montague Brown, the first Richard L. Bready Chair of Ethics, Economics, and the Common Good.
This inaugural lecture, “The Role of Natural Law in a World of Religious and Political Diversity,” will be delivered at 7 p.m. at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics. The college’s first endowed chair was established by Trustee Richard Bready ‘65 in 2004 as part of the Campaign for Saint Anselm College. Bready’s goal is to advance the scholarly work of the faculty and to uphold the college’s mission in liberal arts education. Brown was appointed last year to the chair.
In this podcast, we feature a recent interview with Professor Brown about philosophy and its application in our daily lives. He also discusses his work as the first Bready Chair at the college.
Professor Brown’s published works include The One-Minute Philosopher [Sophia Institute Press 2001], Half-Truths: What’s Right (And What’s Wrong) With the Cliches You and I Live by [Sophia Institute Press 2003], and his most recent book, Restoration of Reason: The Eclipse and Recovery of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty [Baker Academic 2006].
Music Credit: The music that accompanies this podcast is played by the Gleason-Brown Quartet. The Saint Anselm faculty core of Ed Gleason (reeds), Montague Brown (bass), and Brad Thorp (drums) round out the group.
The Dante Effect
September 22, 2006
Dante Scala, associate professor of politics, has been in big demand in recent weeks. Before, during and after New Hampshire’s Sept. 12 primary, Scala’s comments could be seen, heard and read widely.
On Aug. 30, he talked to the Boston Globe about how a critical story in Harper’s magazine might affect congressman Jeb Bradley’s electoral chances. “‘I didn’t see any kind of smoking gun, so to speak.’” Scala said. On primary night itself, he offered analysis on WMUR and the next morning he appeared on New Hampshire Public Radio’s The Exchange. On Sept.17, he commented on poll results for Democratic congressional candidate Paul Hodes, saying “‘that’s pretty grim’” to the Concord Monitor. And he also discussed voter turn out and candidates’ prospects with the Portsmouth Herald. Scala’s political wisdom has also been carried by CQPolitics.com and The Telegraph
